A wide variety of games of skill, generally known as "pinball games", have been made available for the entertainment of the public. These games utilize a projectile, such as a metal ball, which the player, through various control devices, manipulates and directs at various targets on a slightly inclined playing field. The variety of games offered to the public reflects the desire of the playing public for new and different challenges reflected in the variety of games. Within the genre of pinball games, most of the variation is provided by variations in the playfield, i.e., the variety and arrangement of targets, scoring systems, sound effects and artwork. The actual means of manipulating the projectile has remained relatively constant, i.e., initially introducing the projectile onto the playfield with a spring-loaded plunger, and thereafter directing the ball up the inclined surface at the targets by means of flippers situated toward the lower end of its playfield. It is felt a greater variety and increased player interest can be obtained by introducing additional skills to the playfield.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide pinball games of greater variety, and a particular object of the invention is to provide a pinball game having both real and simulated projectiles.